Song for chapter twenty two: Vulnerable by Selena Gomez

|Skyler|

"Aden..."

He looked up at me and for the first time I couldn't tell if he was angry, sad or confused. Somehow, he'd combed his hair already, and he looked as though he'd woken up a while ago.

"Is this true?" he asked me, his jaw clenched and an eyebrow raised as he waved the newspaper in his hands.

My throat grew tight with each breath that I took to calm myself down. That was the truth, wasn't it? My mom was gone, and I'd have to go on forever without her, as I'd always known. Saying it was completely different. I focused my gaze on the floor, not wanting to meet Aden's eyes as forced my head down in a slow nod.

"Y-yes," I choked out, finally glancing up at him through my blurry vision that had been distorted by unshed tears. "My mom, she's dead...." I placed my head in my hands, muffling a sob that escaped from my throat. It made it that much more real now that I'd said it out loud for the first time to someone who wasn't Doctor Miranda.

I knew this day would come. The day that I would have to tell Aden what happened to my mom, and why I lived with my Aunt. I just didn't think it would be so soon, or that it would be like this. I didn't want to know what Aden thought of me now. Some pathetic girl with no parents who was forced to attend therapy. I willed myself to wipe away my tears, but my stiff hands stayed put.

I was about to let it out all in front of Aden, and for some reason, I didn't want to stop myself.

I'm so stupid, why didn't I just put the newspaper away.

I looked up, baffled to see a pained expression on Aden's face as well. He stood up from the floor, letting the newspaper tumble back down next to the bottle of discarded pills.

Suddenly, all the emotions I'd suppressed last night by drowning myself in a bottle of vodka came rushing back.

He looked sad for me, but not surprised.

"And... I watched it happen," I finished just as the tears began rolling down my cheeks. I took a small step back, stunned as he walked towards me. "What—" I stopped short when he wrapped his arms around me, my shoulders relaxed immediately from the contact and I buried my head into his chest, wetting his shirt from my tears.

I pressed my hand onto his chest, in a weak attempt to push him away but he only wrapped his arms around me tighter.

"You shouldn't do that. I- I couldn't save her. S-she looked horrible," I gave up trying to shove him away when I began to sob uncontrollably.

The memory flashed through my brain just as it'd happened yesterday with Doctor Miranda and many nights before. The truck swerving into my driveway way too fast before it smashed into my mom and her car. How I called to her, but I was too late. It was an image that would forever be ingrained into my mind.

"Skyler, it happened so fast you couldn't have done anything," I heard him say over my cries. I shook my head ferociously. "Don't say that," he said, running a hand through my hair.

"It's not true. You weren't there," I suppressed another sob as I said it, but the tears continued to stream down my face.

I felt one of Aden's hands gripped my shoulder, and with his other he tilted my chin up, forcing me to look at his hard eyes pathetically with my teary ones.

"You couldn't have done anything. I don't need to be there to know that," he stated in a tone of finality as he gave my shoulders a light shake, his eyes were hard as he stared into mine. Perhaps it was the fact that I'd finally said it to someone other than Doctor Miranda, or the fact my brain was sober, but in that moment the floodgates opened.

I huddled into Aden's body, letting out endless sobs as I gripped his shirt, my legs threatening to buckle underneath me. In one swift motion, he slipped an arm under my legs and scooped me up.

Aden's words echoed through my mind. I couldn't have done anything.

I couldn't have done anything.

I felt him sit down onto my bed with me cradled in his arms. My screaming sobs raked my chest, only interrupted when I tried to draw a breath, but even then it ended with my body lurching into a chocked sob. Aden's grip tightened around me as I cried, rocking hack and forth as he ran a hand through my hair.

Such a gesture made me sob even harder when it brought back memories of my mom. How she had done the exact same when I was younger once when my school had a 'bring your dad' to school day morphed with a career day. It was then when I realized as a four year old that I didn't have one, and that it wasn't fair that other kids did.

It suddenly hit me like a freight train that my mom was also gone, and she would never be able to comfort me like that again.

That wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that I was left all alone already. It wasn't fair that neither of my parents would never get to see me graduate high school or university. None of this was fair. Life wasn't fair, period. It wasn't fair that I could live and my mom couldn't, and the guilt of it ate away in my heart, all the way to my stomach.

My tears soak Aden's shirt, but he paid it no attention as he quietly shushed me, continuously running his hands through my hair as my body trembled. We stayed like that until at last, I stopped sobbing and I could regulate my breathing again. I peeled my face away from Aden's chest, almost cringing at the large wet splotch on his shirt.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," I sniffed, my voice hoarse from crying. I was shocked with myself that I'd let it all out in front of him.

"It seems like you really needed it," Aden gave me a sad smile and I looked away with a frown. This was what I didn't want.

"Don't look at me like that," my voice wavered.

"Like what?"

"Like I can break at any moment."

"Skyler, it's okay to cry," he gripped me tighter and I glanced down, realizing for the first time that I was sitting on his lap. I felt myself blush and I didn't answer.

With a gentle hand, Aden pulled a strand of my hair behind my ear, sending a shock up my spine when his finger brushed past the sensitive skin by my jaw. "You're the bravest person that I know. You've already been through so much, and you're still smiling through life and living it to the fullest."

"Really?" I asked him with a hesitant tone, feeling my cheeks heat up even warmer. I'd never thought of it like that, especially after I'd just bawled my eyes out. Most of my life my mom had always taught me to not show any weakness. That someone would take advantage of it one day, but for some reason, I didn't feel disadvantaged or vulnerable in front of Aden.

It made me realize that not everyone saw crying as a sign of weakness. Sometimes, it was a sign of strength.

"Really, Clumsy," he nodded.

All of a sudden, I felt the need to explain my behaviour last night. "It's the reason I got drunk. I had my first therapy session for a while and it just brought back memories I tried to forget. I thought drinking would help me forget, but it didn't," I sighed.

Aden chuckled, "Trust me, it definitely does not help."

I tilted my head questioningly, but he didn't elaborate so I let it go.

"If you ever feel like you need to drink to forget something, come to me," he said.

I nodded and leaned forward, wrapping my arms around his head as I buried my head into the crook of his neck. He stiffened momentarily out of surprise, but relaxed, returning my gesture. I shut my eyes, wanting to commit this into my memory. Who knew what would happen after this.

It didn't hit me until then that Aden knew how I felt. Maybe not exactly, but somewhat. He'd gone through life without his mother too, just like I would have to.

"Thank you for today, and last night," I murmured into his neck. I pushed myself off of him after a moment and stared at him, my eyebrows furrowed. "You didn't seem surprised at the newspaper article."

He smiled sheepishly, "I sort of had a feeling, just from the way you talked about her, and the fact that you live with your aunt."

"Oh," My own lips curled up.

"Where's your dad?" he asked me.

"He died before I was born," my smile morphed into a sad one.

Aden pulled me in for another tight hug and I rested my head on his shoulder. "You really are the bravest person I know," Was all he said, and I was glad he couldn't see my cheeks turn a bright shade of red again. My stomach swarmed with butterflies at his words.

For the first time in a while, I felt a heavy burden lifted off my chest. The fact that Aden knew, and didn't judge me for it, and the fact that I'd actually told someone in New York made it feel like the weight I'd been carrying for months had dissipated.

He didn't think I was weak for breaking down the way I did, and maybe I no longer felt that way either. I didn't feel like crying anymore, and I hoped that the feeling would stay.

My eyes widened in a panic and I (reluctantly) pushed myself off of him, standing up, "I left Josie at the party last night."

"No, Ryan took Josie home right after we left," Aden explained. "From what Ryan said I think Josie was worse than you."

I laughed as relief flooded over me, "Oh yes I think she was."

From the amount I had last night, I was surprised I wasn't worse. At least I knew I wasn't lightweight.

Aden shuffled beside me and I glanced over, an eyebrow raising at him when I noticed the reddish tint on his cheeks.

"What's wrong Aden?" I sat down on the bed next to him.

He turned to face me as he scratched the back of his neck, his cheeks growing pinker by the second, "I understand if you don't want to but I want to cheer you up..."

He trailed off and I stared at him expectantly. "Yes...?"

"Would you like to go out with me tonight?" he asked, all in one quick breath. He grimaced as if he were expecting the worse possible answer.

Instead, I grinned, "Like, as a date?"

"Only if you want it to be," his confident smirk was back.

"Then... its a date," I beamed.

Within the next second, Aden was on top of me, a leg swung over mine with an accomplished smile plastered on his face. His eyes flickered to my lips, and he didn't hesitate before leaning in. I shut my eyes, waiting for his touch. His lips grazed over mine but as his phone rang a text.

I heard Aden groan in annoyance as he rolled off of me and my eyes shot open again. He took one look at his phone and heaved an annoyed sigh.

"That's my dad. He needs me," he looked at me, an irritated expression on his face before it morphed into a smile again. We got up from the the bed and I walked him down the hall to the door.

"I'll see you tonight. Dress for the weather," Aden's voice was muffled as he bent over and planted a quick kiss on my forehead. He stepped out of the apartment, shutting the door behind him.

My gaze lingered on the closed mahogany door, smiling like an idiot.

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I hope you all liked this chapter! It was a super important one :).

~SweetnessInTheSalt